Families of two Edgewater men killed in high-speed crash search for answers from state police

William Holman Jr. talks about his brother Ryan Weibley, who was killed along with Dustin Smith in an auto accident on August 25th after an interaction with the State Police at a speed trap near Davidsonville.

William Holman Jr. talks about his brother Ryan Weibley, who was killed along with Dustin Smith in an auto accident on August 25th after an interaction with the State Police at a speed trap near Davidsonville.

Amanda YeagerStaff writer

The families of two Edgewater men who died in a high-speed crash near Davidsonville last month say they still have questions about how the accident occurred after a Maryland State Police trooper tried pulling the car over before it crashed.

Ryan Weibley, 24, and Dustin Smith, 22, died Aug. 25 after the white Audi A4 Smith was driving left the road and crashed into a wooded area along the Route 424 exit from westbound Route 50.

What exactly happened from when the trooper first spotted the speeding car until the accident is still unclear. But after visiting the crash site, the families are hoping police can help provide the answers through video and radio recordings.

State police spokeswoman Elena Russo said she did not know whether there is any dashboard or body camera footage related to the accident. She said radio transmissions and recordings of 911 calls would not be available until after an investigation of the crash is complete.

State police said the crash happened shortly after a trooper reported seeing the car speed past his unmarked vehicle at more than 100 mph. The trooper turned on his emergency lights in an attempt to pull Smith over, but police say the troopers lost sight of the car and abandoned the chase.

“We aren’t sure why the driver did not stop for police. The trooper activated his emergency equipment in an attempt to conduct the traffic stop,” Russo wrote in an email.

About 9 p.m., police said, another trooper from the Annapolis Barrack responded to reports of a crash on the Route 424 exit ramp and discovered the Audi.

The families of two Edgewater men who died in a high-speed crash near Davidsonville last month say they still have questions about how the accident occurred after a Maryland State Police trooper tried pulling the car over before it crashed.

“We just feel like there’s a lot more we need to know on the subject,” said Janey Ohrvall, Weibley’s girlfriend of four years. “We want to know how the crash occurred.”

Ohrvall and some of Weibley’s family members visited the crash site the next day to see the wreckage and try to piece together what happened. Some of Smith’s family also took a trip to the site.

They found a set of skid marks heading into the woods as well as what looks like a second set of skid marks veering toward the exit’s shoulder and then away, leading them to question whether there could have been another car involved.

Weibley’s older brother, William Holman, who has made several visits to the scene of the accident said the crash site “just doesn’t feel right.”

“I want to know everything that happened surrounding the accident,” Holman said. “It’s hard to process, and there’s endless possibilities of what could have happened — there could have been a deer that ran out, for all we know. I just want to know the absolute truth and be at peace with it.”

Smith’s father, Don Smith, said he’s also hoping for more information.

“It could be a situation of randomness where they went off the road and there was already a set of skid marks on the road, from a previous incident,” he said. “The problem is, I don't really know.”

Weibley’s mother, Laura Akers, said the family hopes to obtain any recordings police have “from the start of the chase up until the moment of the crash” to see if they might offer any clues.

Akers said she would like to see dashboard video from the troopers’ vehicles, as well as any body camera footage that might have been recorded at the scene. She’s also hoping to obtain radio transmissions related to the chase, as well as any traffic footage from the highway and exit, if it exists.

Russo said a preliminary look at the scene suggests speed was a factor in the accident. Police are also awaiting the results of a toxicology report, she said.

Police said an SUV traveling west in the eastbound lanes of the road early Sunday crashed...

Court records show there was a warrant out for Weibley at the time of the accident for misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, trespassing and disorderly conduct. His family says the charges were related to a dispute with a neighbor over Weibley’s cat.

They want Weibley to be remembered for his gregarious personality, fondness for animals and loyalty to family.

Akers said her son loved cars, fishing and spending time with his 10-year-old sister. He and Smith were heading back from a car show in Annapolis on the night of the crash.

She said Weibley was a Christian who wore rosary beads that belonged to his best friend, Thomas Becker, who died after being hit by a car on College Parkway in 2013.

Ohrvall, 22, said she and Weibley had plans to get married and open an inn in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York. They had recently returned from a hiking trip there, and had been looking forward to celebrating Weibley’s 25th birthday on Sept. 14.

“We wanted to be planning a birthday instead of all this,” she said.

Even though Holman, 29, was older, he said Weibley had been his staunch defender during their adolescent years, when Holman came out as gay.

“He was the first person out of my family to tell me I don’t care who you are, I love you no matter what and I will defend you until the day you die,” he said. “I have to stay strong for him and I have to be his voice. I will continue to defend him until I die.”

Smith said his son had an outgoing personality and a “heart of gold.” His interests included cars, cooking and local sports — he was a fan of the Redskins, Capitals and University of Maryland Terrapins.

He also worked multiple jobs to provide for his two daughters, Smith said.

Learning more about what happened on the night of Aug. 25 “isn’t going to change the outcome of what happened with my son,” Smith said.

But, he said, “I’m just thinking, on the same token, that two little girls are now fatherless.”